Rescue operations are under way in Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, where devastating floods have killed more than 100 people. Soldiers rescued a man clinging to a fence in a flooded area in the city of Porto Alegre. Emergency workers also rescued a horse that had been trapped for days on a rooftop. More than 165,000 people have been displaced from flooded homes and rescued by boats and helicopters, with many taking refuge at makeshift shelters Brazil is reeling from catastrophic floods. What went wrong – and what does the future hold ..read more

In the country’s south, up to half of the annual predicted rain fell in just 10 days – the third such event in a year. Experts say it is time to plan for a new normal Photographs by Daniel Marenco When the torrential rain began to swallow her city block, Cristiane Batista, 34, grabbed her three children, a couple of backpacks and her smartphone and waited at the door, hoping to be picked up by the municipal trucks preparing to evacuate the population of Muçum, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. “I was terrified. The house was about to flood. We had to get out of there,” she says ..read more

Animal dubbed ‘Caramelo’ was trapped for days, balancing on two strips of slippery asbestos after flooding hit the Porto Alegre area Emergency workers have rescued a horse that had been trapped for days on a rooftop after severe floods in southern Brazil, as the death toll from the disaster rose to 107 people. The animal, dubbed Caramelo on social media, had been balancing on two narrow strips of slippery asbestos in Canoas, a city in the Porto Alegre metropolitan area that is one of the hardest-hit areas in the state, much of which has been isolated by floodwaters ..read more

Supporters of rightwing ex-president Jair Bolsonaro among 1.6m people at show despite conservative criticism of ‘satanist’ singer For conservative supporters of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, Madonna’s recent mega show in Rio had seemed the perfect opportunity to score points against what they see as the ungodly and morally degenerate left. After the Queen of Pop threw the biggest concert of her 40-year career on Copacabana beach on Saturday, one far-right congressman called the singer a “satanist”. Another reprehended the “immoral acts” that had unfolded on stage during the sexuall ..read more

Climate chaos is threatening food production, trade and lives, says World Meteorological Organization Hunger and disease are rising in Latin America after a year of record heat, floods and drought, a report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has shown. The continent, which is trapped between the freakishly hot Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, probably suffered tens of thousands of climate-related deaths in 2023, at least $21bn (£17bn) of economic damage and “the greatest calorific loss” of any region, the study found ..read more

Devastating floods in Rio Grande do Sul state have about left 90 dead with survivors seeking food and shelter Brazil flooding death toll rises to 90 Heavy rains that began last week have caused rivers to flood, inundating whole towns and destroying roads and bridges across the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The local civil defence agency said the death toll had risen to 90, while 131 people were unaccounted for with 155,000 homeless. A state of emergency has been declared in 397 of Rio Grande do Sul’s 497 towns and cities as rescue efforts continue. The Taquari River in Rio G ..read more

Drone footage showed a flooded airport and stadium in the city of Porto Alegre, as the death toll after heavy rains in southern Brazil climbed to at least 90, with more than 130 people still missing. Rain has flooded huge stretches of Rio Grande do Sul state, displacing more than 155,000 people and affecting an estimated 1.3 million, according to local authorities Brazil flooding death toll rises to 90 as more than 155,000 people displaced ..read more

At least 361 injured and 131 missing in southern part of country from what governor called his state’s ‘biggest climate catastrophe’ The death toll from what authorities call the worst climate disaster ever to strike southern Brazil has risen to 90, after ferocious rain flooded huge stretches of Rio Grande do Sul state, displacing more than 155,000 people and forcing the closure of the main airport in the country’s fifth biggest city. Photographs of the Porto Alegre airport, one of Brazil’s busiest, showed its main terminal had been completely inundated and a cargo plane parked in an expanse o ..read more

Collection of more than 1,000 fossils including rare dinosaurs given to National Museum in Rio six years after devastating blaze Nearly six years after it was engulfed by a devastating fire that inflicted incalculable damage on Brazil’s cultural heritage, the country’s national museum has received an important donation of more than a thousand fossils as part of a campaign to help rebuild the collection lost to the flames. The fire, caused by an electrical short-circuit on the night of 2 September 2018, consumed the former imperial palace which housed the 200-year-old museum in a park just nort ..read more

This part of South America is no stranger to major rainfall, but last week’s storms were particularly devastating Torrential rainstorms in Brazil’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul have caused the worst flooding the country has seen in 80 years, many deaths and the displacement of thousands of families. Central parts of the state were hit the hardest after the storms began last Monday, with unofficial weather stations in the area recording 50-100cm (20-40in) of rain over the past week. Widespread floods and landslides have caused major damage to homes and infrastructure, most alarmingly ..read more